Tim DeChristopher thought the Obama administration’s environmentally-friendly approach to public lands would cover his back. He thought wrong.

Don’t mess with the BLM (AP)

The 27-year old Utah student, who gained notoriety when he disrupted a federal auction for oil and gas leases in December by bidding for land with money he didn’t have, got charged with two federal felony counts yesterday. If convicted, he could face as much as 10 years in prison.

New Interior Secretary Ken Salazar made it clear he will brook no nonsense in the very serious business of federal energy leases, even if the administration shares concern about oil and gas development on some federal land. From the Salt Lake Tribune:

The Bureau of Land Management, Salazar warned, “will not tolerate future conduct which undermines the integrity of the bid process.” DeChristopher said he didn’t regret bidding on 13 drilling parcels near Arches and Canyonlands with no intention of paying the $1.8 million for them. But he did believe the Obama administration might see the seriousness and morality of his mission to protect the future against global climate disruption. “Those hopes were misplaced,” he said. “Now my hopes rest on a jury of my peers.”

Mr. DeChristopher caused a sensation when he snuck into the lease auction last December and bid up prices for some parcels of land; some energy companies pulled out of the bidding, and others had to pay more money. He said the auction was “a fraud against the American people and a threat to our future.”

The irony, of course, is that the Interior Department later cancelled bids on 77 of the most environmentally-sensitive parcels—for pretty much the same rationale that drove Mr. DeChristopher to muck with the auction in the first place.

“In its last weeks in office, the Bush Administration rushed ahead to sell oil and gas leases at the doorstep of some of our nation’s most treasured landscapes in Utah,” Secretary Salazar said at the time.

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Environmental Capital provides daily news and analysis of the shifting energy and environmental landscape. The Wall Street Journal’s Keith Johnson is the lead writer. Environmental Capital is led by Journal energy reporter Russell Gold, and includes contributions from other writers at the Journal, WSJ.com, and Dow Jones Newswires. Write us at environmentalcapital@wsj.com.